AUSTIN —The Fame Monster isn't just the title of a Lady Gaga album, it sums up her vision of the music industry.

In expounding on the realities of the business, the pop artist was alternately emotional, saucy and serious during an hour-long keynote address at South By Southwest on Friday. She cautioned artists about caving into a desire for fame. Instead, she urged them to focus on the art and avoid the trappings of sales and success.

"I make music (and) the second I put it out into the world it gets eaten by a computer … and systems and there's rankings. It's terrifying," she said. "Placing that importance on those charts, you start trying to influence the artists. Now when you take the power out of the hands of the artist and put it in the hands of the corporation … I don't want that to dictate the music I listen to. I don't think anybody wants that to dictate what they listen to."

Gaga, 27, wore a Bob Marley-esque blond dreadlocked mane and white plastic attire as she was interviewed on stage by John Norris, reporter with the music TV network Fuse. He asked her about a tough 2013 — she had hip surgery, settled a lawsuit with a former personal assistant, changed managers and had to deal with criticism about lackluster sales of her most recent album ARTPOP.

The album debuted at No. 1 upon its release in November, but didn't match the sales of her previous releases, including the 2008 triple-platinum The Fame and 2011's double-platinum Born This Way. It has sold 2.3 million copies worldwide, but perhaps didn't satisfy her label, she said.

"I'm sorry it didn't sell 1 million in the first week, but I'm very proud of what we did. I sold as much as anybody else," she said. "I'm held to such an insane standard. Maybe it's a compliment to me, but everybody forgets where the music industry is now."

What she learned through the process — and Gaga told her fans something similar online in January — was that artists must push back when told to create in a manner that attracts more fans. "You have them, so why don't you go get them now, so you can have more. We need to have more," she said. "I don't need more. I have my amazing fans. I don't need, need, need, need more, more more."

If forced to play that game, Gaga said, she might walk away from major-label pop music. "When it becomes complicated like that do I really want to make music like that on a commercial level?" she said. "I'll just go make music downtown. I don't need all that if it means negativity. And I certainly wouldn't abandon my morals and core values to be more famous."

Artists must stay true to themselves, she said, recalling how when she first began recording songs that people, specifically men, told her to "be less theatrical. I would say, 'But Freddie Mercury was theatrical and David Bowie was theatrical and (so was) Sgt. Pepper.' If I had listened to them I would not be here today. When you stifle yourself, you feel miserable. Don't do it."

When asked about the idea of big-name artists including Kanye West and Jay Z swooping into Austin — backed by corporate promotions — and stealing attention from smaller acts, Gaga refused to accept that notion. She performed a Doritos-sponsored concert Thursday night at Stubb's BBQ.

Frito-Lay, maker of Doritos, made "an amazing donation" to her Born This Way Foundation, she said. Critics of the collaboration "don't know (expletive) about the state of the music industry. (Doritos) is not telling me how to do the show or putting chains around my neck. They just said, 'We want to support you and help your foundation and help spread your message.' It all came together."

As long as artists stay true to themselves, they can collaborate with corporations and brands without actual compromise, she said.

"The truth is, without sponsorships and without companies coming together to help us, we won't have any more artists or festivals because record companies don't have any (expletive) money," she said. "Why shouldn't somebody in Austin have the chance to see Jay Z up close and personal?"

She noted that she had longtime friends, a lesser-known band called SemiPrecious Weapons, open the show for her. The relationships work best for all involved, she said, if "all the artists and corporations … use the acts that are bigger to shine the light on the new ones."